


You Sultry Land Pirates Ruined My Dig!

by Adapted_Batteries



Series: Land Pirate AU [1]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Multi, cassandra still met ezekiel and became a thief with him, except no one knows, land pirate au, little bit Cassekiel, little bit Jassandra, little bit Jazekiel, none of them are libarians, stone still worked under a pen name until recently, there's magic in them there ruins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:49:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9412118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adapted_Batteries/pseuds/Adapted_Batteries
Summary: In a world where Cassandra and Ezekiel are top tier land pirates, and Stone is an expert in archeology and history but new to being out in the field, there is a weird, impenetrable tomb in some Sumerian ruins, with things that don’t quite make sense.Inspired by the lovely story line (and outfits) in episode 3x09 “And the Fatal Separation” where Cassandra and Ezekiel pose as land pirates and smuggle Stone, Baird, and Flynn into Shangri-la.





	1. Backstory and Finding Dr. Stone

Cassandra hadn’t imagined her life ever ending up like this, running around with Ezekiel acquiring items of interest for buyers. Risky, dangerous, but well-paying work, that was for sure. The job grew on her though; now she was so good at it she couldn’t think of doing anything else. Ezekiel had been a thief for years before they met, though. In fact, that’s how they met. 

Desperate for cash and a better paying job, Cassandra found a listing on a forum for “analytical analysis of action plans” with a salary listed as “varying, but well worth it.” No requirements for a degree or diploma, and she was great at analyzing stuff. Anything to have more cash, maybe pay for surgery one day, though she wasn’t quite ready to get rid of her brain tumor since it was the reason she could do that job.

In hindsight, shady job off a forum couldn’t have ever been good, but sometimes people don’t think things through. She showed up to what looked like an abandoned warehouse and quickly got roped into assessing a tactical plan to infiltrate a museum archive for some artifact of interest. It got even worse when her new boss decided she would be the least suspicious of the man’s thugs to go retrieve this artifact, and she better do it or there would be a bullet where her tumor was.

Weirdly enough, it wasn’t very hard to get into the museum. All she needed was the right questions and interests to get the archivist to take her into the vault for the sake of research. She already looked the part of an academic with her somewhat eclectic style of dress and innocent complexion. 

However, when they both got down there, they weren’t the only ones interested in the artifact. An Asian boy with messy dark hair was currently hacking into the keypad on the wall. The archivist was livid, the old lady suddenly yelling at the top of her lungs. She startled the thief, who messed up his task and set off an alarm throughout the whole floor. According to the angry archivist, it was a security alert that would notify the police station down the block. 

In a panic, the boy stood and strode towards Cassandra. Not prepared for this, she froze, willing him not to hurt her, but instead he hugged her. “Cousin! I did not know you in town! It is good to see you!” he exclaimed in a very thick, stereotypical Asian accent. Cassandra had no clue what was going on. “I got lost, you know, like I do, but it is a good thing you showed up. We should go visit Mum, she love to talk with you.” He turned her by the shoulders and gave a rather forceful shove forward, whispering into her ear, now in an Australian accent, “Play up ‘coz I know you’re here for the ring. If we get out of here alive I won’t kill you.”

“Oh yes, Mum will be overjoyed to see me, wouldn’t she? Let’s go back home,” Cassandra said, attempting to keep the quiver out of her voice. She let him lead her through a backdoor into an alley behind the museum, from there they broke into a run.

He took her to a park and found a grove of trees and bushes they could hide in. “Alright I just saved you jail time, so spill it,” he barked. “Who are you working for? Did they send you for the ring?”

“What? Uh yeah, I guess? They didn’t tell me what I was getting. I didn’t even want to go either, I’m not a thief like you!” She spat, adrenaline fueling her words.

“I’ll have you know I’m the best thief out there and if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have gotten caught!” he retorted.

“I don’t care if you’re the best, I’m not supposed to be doing this! I should be in school somewhere, not stealing a mysterious artifact for a mob boss because I can’t get a job,” she responded, mostly to herself.

“Well you must be good enough if they trusted to you get it,” the boy said, trying to calm down. “Who are you?”

“I’m Cassandra, I’m no one.” A weird response, but the boy didn’t seem to mind. Actually, he seemed to be planning something.

“Look, a person in my...business...could use someone like you, a pretty face who can get in and get out. It pays well, just not legally, and you don’t seem too keen to return to your current job,” he suggested.

“I am not going to steal for a living!” she said hysterically, turning around and walking a few paces before turning back around. 

“Well it seems like you already were,” he started, looking at her with almost pity. “Ezekiel Jones, world-class thief,” he greeted, offering her his hand. Realizing she was currently on the run from the police, she shook it.

“Cassandra Cillian, uh, genius I guess?” she stammered.

“Genius, eh? How come you’re in my line of work?” he asked her, a smug grin on his face.

Cassandra tapped her temple. “Tumor. Made me drop out of school, ruined my life. But I can do quantum physics in my head, see the patterns where there is none, figure out stuff.”

“So you’re like Sherlock Holmes?” he laughed.

“Uh, if Sherlock had visual hallucinations due to a tumor and not drugs, then yes, I’m like Sherlock Holmes,” she concluded, confused by the analogy.

“Well Sherlock, we can’t say in the bushes forever. This job is bust, thanks to you,” she narrowed her eyes at him, “but there’s plenty more. Let’s get going.”

Just like that she followed him, and for the next five years they worked their way up in the crime ranks, becoming one of the best duos for acquiring rare artifacts and art. The job certainly wasn’t boring; in fact after the first few steals, they had enough to start working on their “image” which could be best described as “edgy, sexy, and intimidating.” It became their trademark almost, besides their reputation for getting just about anything that paid well.

Ezekiel really was a world-class thief. It was almost scary how well he could steal and break into places, but also an odd relief to have him working with her and not against her. He could care less that she tripped out sometimes due to the brain grape (a name he coined for her tumor which stuck) overloading her senses, as long as she got him the intel and planned out how to get whatever they were stealing that day. 

 

They actually worked really well together, something Ezekiel didn’t think he’d ever do. He had been on his own for years before they met, and it took a bit to get him to trust Cassandra and not treat her like a walking computer. He started training her sort of, and then they both did jobs together, and it just clicked. 

It helped Cassandra ended up being a really good actress, especially in her “sexy land pirate who could also kill you in an instant” Amy Adamantite act which they used almost every job. He had fun playing Mr. Zet too; it was quite fun to look great, and that perk more than once had gotten both of them info they couldn’t have gotten elsewhere (some security guards and secretaries and curators were way too thirsty). Their most recent outfits were particularly fun to wear; dark purples and blacks and leather and fringe that looked great on her, and black waistcoat vest and maroon skinny jeans and leather armband for himself. He did get a little distracted with the feathers that dangled down the left side of his face from a thin leather head band, but it definitely completed the outfit.

Today that perk was going to be put to use. They were after an artifact which a Dr. Jacob Stone was leading a dig on in southwestern Iraq; a Sumerian tablet of some sort. The interested parties normally didn’t tell much about what they wanted, just enough to be able to identify it. Conveniently the archaeological community decided to excavate the ruins where the buyer suspected this tablet was, and the dig actually made Cassandra and Ezekiel’s job easier. Stone and his team would do all the work finding it, then they would steal it. Simple.

 

Deciding to play up to curious researchers, they went to the dig site looking for the professor. The academic was new to it all from what Cassandra had found. The cowboy had been publishing with a pen name but had recently revealed himself and started working for an English university in their archaeology department which had gotten him out here. The dig was a few miles outside the nearest town, a convenient location. The sun had just about set, but lights were on throughout the camp that had set up next to a load of stone ruins. 

Upon inquiry, it was discovered that the professor had gone into town in search for drink. Cassandra saw it a golden opportunity to get Dr. Stone to give them all the information they needed. After a quick stop at their hotel to switch from academics to sexy land pirates, they easily found the one tavern in the town. A steady stream of customers came and left from the doors, giving glimpses into the sounds and smells from inside. 

It took a bit to find Dr. Stone in the midst of everyone wearing white and tan clothes/robes and various colored turbans, until he spoke. Though it was some form of Arabic, he somehow put an Oklahoman twang to it, along with a booming laugh to whatever he said. The bartender chuckled and nodded, more amused by the buzzed Oklahoman than whatever he had said. He was sitting alone unlike everyone else in the bar. 

“Alright, I’m going to talk to him first. If and when I need you, I’ll do the signal, so watch me,” Cassandra said under her breath as she leaned over to Ezekiel. “Don’t do anything to get us kicked out please.”

“I’ll try my best, though I should say the same to you since I don’t see any ladies nearby,” Ezekiel responded, scanning the smokey room. His observation was correct that he could tell, but the patrons didn’t seem startled by their entrance, instead absorbed in drink, smoke, or conversation. 

“Noted. Good thing I’m capable of taking care of myself,” she said, straightening her back as she got into character. With a somewhat deep breath, she strutted over to the bar next to the archaeologist as the bartender moved off to some other customers. It took a second for him to realize she was there; he jumped slightly in his seat before giving her a look over.

“Well you’re not from around here,” he greeted. His voice was rich, low, and thick with the country accent. He also had a smirk on his face as he looked her over, a sign that this persona would probably get her somewhere.

“Nope, I’m not, and neither are you. Dr. Stone I presume?” she purred, looking intently at him. 

“Yup. But I don’t know you. Gotta name, sweetheart?” he asked, taking another drink of some dark, slightly frothy liquid, then setting it down somewhat clumsily. 

Internally she rolled her eyes, but kept her front with a smirk of her own. “Amy Adamantine, a...connoisseur of antiquities, you could say.”

“Lucky for you I’m a famous historian and archaeologist,” he chuckled, puffing up his chest slightly like a bird trying to impress a potential mate. 

Deciding to toy with him, Cassandra decided to be a little sassy. “Hmm, if you’re so famous, why haven’t I heard much about you?” Dr. Stone looked a little taken aback, his pompous attitude faltering a bit. 

“Well, I’ve used a pen name for a while, that may be why,” he started, watching her expression for the recognition he wanted. “Have you heard of a Dr. Thompson?”

“Maybe, could you describe some of your work?” she asked, hoping to let him self-repair his ego. He perked up at her question. 

Cassandra did not realize that Stone would go on for five minutes about things she never heard nor cared about. She attempted to get him back on track with the dig, but he kept getting reminded of various papers he’d written over the years, the alcohol making him a little scatterbrained.

By now Ezekiel had slowly moved to one end of the bartop, keeping his distance but watching with a drink in hand. Deciding now was the right time, Cassandra, who had been leaning on her left hand, elbow against the countertop, covertly tapped her left temple twice with her index and middle finger together. At the signal, Ezekiel nodded once, barely observable, before standing up and sitting next to Dr. Stone.

Cassandra cleared her throat to get his attention and interrupt his analysis on some Renaissance era painting. “Dr. Stone, this is my colleague, Mr. Ket.”

At Ezekiel’s arrival, Dr. Stone’s jaw literally dropped. It only lasted a second before he recovered himself, but Cassandra could tell that Ezekiel was going to get more information tonight. The archaeologist shook his head a bit, trying to clear his thoughts. He offered his hand to him as he spoke, “Evenin’, Mr. Ket. Nice to meet ya.”

“You as well, Dr. Stone.” Ezekiel returned the shake, being as smooth as he could. “So you have an excavation outside of town, correct?”

“Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah, I do. We’re goin’ through some ancient Sumerian ruins. It’s taken a bit, but we’ve found some interestin’ things down there,” Dr. Stone answered, fumbling over his words.

“Interesting things, like what?” Ezekiel pressed, genuinely intrigued. He leaned forward ever so slightly, which Dr. Stone mimicked, completely forgetting Cassandra was next to him.

“Well, we’ve found some nice pottery, a few tablets,” he paused, dramatically putting up a hand like he was trying to tell a secret, but not actually lowering his voice, “and we found what I think is a burial chamber of some sort. But we can’t get in it just yet.” 

“That is fascinating,” Ezekiel purred. He glanced over to Cassandra to see where she suggested he’d go with this. Judging off Dr. Stone’s initial reaction, she gave a quick glance to the back of his head then winked and nodded, their sign for “chat them up because they will spill it.” Ezekiel looked back to Dr. Stone, putting on his most seductive expression. “Do you think,” he started, letting his fingers walk slowly up the drunk man’s chest as he talked, “there could be a chance my colleague and I could see this dig of yours?” Ezekiel gently put his index finger under Dr. Stone’s chin.

Dr. Stone swallowed hard before speaking. “Sh….sure, definitely. You can, uh, stop by tomorrow mornin’.” Satisfied with that answer, Ezekiel rewarded him with a kiss, pulling him in with the finger still under his chin. It wasn’t long, but enough to keep Dr. Stone moldable in their hands. “Or, um, you can visit tonight,” he rumbled.

“Hmmm, that’s a tempting offer I admit, however I don’t want to leave my colleague alone in an unfamiliar city,” Ezekiel fibbed, knowing full well Cassandra could take care of herself.

Ezekiel's answer reminded Dr. Stone that she still existed; he followed Ezekiel’s eyes behind him to look at her. “ O...oh, yes, of course,” he stammered, sitting up in his chair from where he had really leaned into Ezekiel’s space. “I should be gettin’ back to camp before it’s too late in the night anyway. It was nice meeting ya’ll.” 

“I look forward to seeing your dig,” Cassandra responded. Dr. Stone nodded to her and Ezekiel before slapping some money on the counter to catch the bartender’s attention. He then stood up from the stool, nodded again to both of them like he forgot he just did it, and left the bar. “I’d say that went rather well,” Cassandra giggled.

“Hey, anytime I get to kiss hot targets and get information from them, I call that a win,” Ezekiel clarified, clearly content with his performance. 

“I can’t argue with that,” she said, standing up from the bar. “I say it’s time to call it a night, then we’ll give your plaything a visit tomorrow.” 

“Seconded,” Ezekiel yawned, not handling the jet lag as well as Cassandra was. “If he initiates, can I-” 

“It probably wouldn’t be a good idea if you banged the person we’re gonna steal from,” she said, cutting off his question. He huffed, but nodded in understanding, finishing the last of his drink.

“Yeah, you’re right. But he was just so yummy,” Ezekiel confided in an exaggerated tone, knowing it’d make Cassandra squirm. She scrunched up her nose at his statement, but decided not to give in to his bait like he wanted, instead digging out some currency to pay for his drink (she always handled the finances).

“Come on, let’s go.” She grabbed his wrist gently and lead him out of the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to put this pre-operation for Cassandra because I feel we don’t know a whole lot about her new ability yet, or at least I don’t know enough to write it confidently.
> 
> Also I love the idea of Stone being bi and really confused on who to focus on with these two sexy people on either side of him. Sadly this story won’t have much more Jazekiel or Jassandra, but I’m most likely gonna write some one-shots for both in this universe though cuz it’d be fun.


	2. Reconnaissance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra and Ezekiel visit Dr. Stone at his dig.

The desert was not Cassandra’s favorite place they had been so far. It was only 8am but the sun beat down, making her sweat under her thankfully lighter colored “explorer’s outfit.” They used these clothes anytime they needed to blend in with scientists in the field; various colored tan shirts and pants, some sturdy boots and today, a light blue shawl to cover her head almost like a very loose hijab. Ezekiel was similarly dressed, minus the shawl, but he did have a white cloth over his head like many of the workers at the site, to protect his head and neck from the sun, which he held in place with his leather headband.

Dr. Stone, dressed similarly to Ezekiel but without dangling feathers from his headband, saw them approaching. He seemed to be looking at a map on a makeshift table of crates, talking to two workers in their language. 

“Miss Adamantine and Mr. Zet, welcome,” he greeted after giving the workers some instructions. He walked towards them, gesturing in the direction of the expansive ruins that lay just north of the camp. “Some of the good artifacts have already been shipped back for analysis, but the ruins themselves are still a wonder.”

“Oh, that’s alright. We still get a personal tour of the ruins,” Ezekiel chirped, getting a smile from Dr. Stone. 

“So, a little history of these ruins,” Dr. Stone started as he led them to the entrance. “Around 3,200 B.C. a shift in weather triggered a spread in population for better farmland. Uruk was the main city at the time, it’s about 30 miles east from here, which is most likely where the people came from. Based on the structure of this settlement, they diverted a portion of a larger canal from the Euphrates for water.” 

He led them down into one of the finished excavations; a large square plot of earth that had several remnants of buildings. They were mostly stone, a sandy tan color, but there were clumps of dark materials against some of the walls, both inside the building walls and outside them. Dr. Stone pointed to one of the clumps. “Now it was common to use wooden beams to support the walls and ceiling, something we find in Uruk, but these carbon deposits weren’t just in the homes. In this portion in particular, it looks like these people had a garden or courtyard with trees and other plants, not a common thing to find in a drying climate.”

 

After about thirty minutes of listening to Dr. Stone get excited about the people creating an oasis in the desert and how they did it, they finally arrived at the promising burial chamber. “An expensive courtyard, which was constantly watered by slaves, mansions, and things normally found in the richer houses in Ur and Uruk, makes it seem that this settlement comprised of a few noble families and enough commoners to support them. It made sense that we would eventually find burial chambers, but these people didn’t make burial chambers like underground basements,” Dr. Stone said as they stood in front of the entrance. He had taken them into the remnants of one of the big homes and down the sloping dirt to the oddly placed stone door at the bottom of the excavated pit. “We know where the floor was based on the deposits on the stone bricks up there,” he continued, pointing to a faint line visible around two of the walls. “So this was definitely underground. Basement-like storage pits were common, but never with such a sturdy stone door. Whatever is behind here, they didn’t want people finding. They fortified the earth for it, as you can see, bricking only this wall in and fixing a door to it.”

“Did they normally use doors like this for other tombs?” Cassandra asked, much more interested in this dig than before.

“Some of the large temples had similar doors, but they didn't lock, rather they were placed as heavy covers that sealed the room until a new body went in. This door we can’t get open, but it’s not sealed like the bricks. It seems to have some sort of locking mechanism, based on the characters on the door, almost like an ancient keypad, for lack of a better analogy,” Dr. Stone responded, looking at the door. There were thirty symbols on raised stones, arranged in a five by six grid.

Cassandra stared at the door, absorbing the information to analyze later. “What language are the symbols?” she asked, not recognizing some of the characters.

“From my own research, I've determined it's some offshoot of Archaic Sumerian, but only some symbols look like it. These others,” he pointed to several odd looking shapes, “look more like ancient Hebrew if anything. But that doesn't make timeline sense because Hebrew doesn't exist for another 2,000 years.”

“Interesting,” Cassandra responded, still processing the pattern of the letters. She needed to brush up on her ancient Hebrew to make sense of the symbols. 

“What type of lock would they have used to make this door?” Ezekiel asked, doing his part of the problem solving. 

“That we know of, they didn't have very complicated trap systems, or if they did, they've decomposed to where we can't study them.” Dr. Stone walked up to the brick wall and tapped it. “We also can't see through this wall either. No sonar, ultrasound, or x-ray will penetrate this brick. But there's nothing unusual about the brick that we can tell.”

“How come you don't just blow a hole through the wall?” Ezekiel suggested. Cassandra rolled her eyes, and Dr. Stone looked like he thought Ezekiel was out of his mind.

“How many archeological digs have you heard of using explosives to excavate, hmm? If we did that, not only would I lose funding for any future projects because I ruined my own dig, but I'd for sure destroy anything inside, and probably collapse the building remnants above it,” Dr. Stone scolded. He then restrained himself, taking a deep breath. “If we were in a different environment, where not everything was basically sand, maybe we could punch through some bricks, but with the weight of sand above and around, plus the precarious stability we already have from excavating, it's a bad idea.”

“Yeah, you're right, I didn't think of that,” Ezekiel backtracked, knowing he needed to stay on Dr. Stone's good side for now, even throwing in a little grin too, trying to sell it. Based off Dr. Stone’s smile back, he presumed he had succeeded. 

“Well you've seen the dig now, but we've got the artifacts in a sorting tent back at camp,” he started, moving back towards the dirt ramp. It wasn't a horribly steep incline, but he gave both an unnecessary helping hand up it. “We sent off some really nice pottery a couple days ago. Mostly fragments, but there was one almost completely intact and barely faded. Love it when we find those, it's like a kid on an Easter egg hunt that finds the egg with the $20 bill in it.”

“How long will you be excavating here?” Cassandra asked after they cleared the threshold of the mansion door. 

“Oh, we're only about halfway done excavating. We know where all the buildings are now, so we just gotta dig them out a bit, especially after finding that door. It'll probably be a couple weeks or so,” he replied, nodding to some workers on their way back.

The artifact tent looked like all of the others; simple tanish canvas and rope. It was one of the biggest, about the size of a metal shipping container, which made sense when they stepped inside. Two foldable tables stood in the center with a variety of tools and cloths on it. Crates, boxes, and cases of all sizes lined the walls except for a bare spot near the entrance. Based off the markings and impressions in the sand, those were probably the boxes that he sent off a few days ago. 

A non-local, easy to tell by the sunburned skin, stood at one of the tables, brushing something. “How's cleaning going, Sydney?” He asked. She looked up from her work, a hint of confusion on her face when she saw Cassandra and Ezekiel.

“Oh, fine enough. I'd rather be out in the dig though,” she sighed. 

“You can go back out when you don't look so much like a lobster,” he chuckled to her. “This is Sydney Denton, she's my on site geologist, and currently artifact cleaner,” he clarified to the strangers. “Sydney, this is Miss Adamantine and Mr. Zet...uh-”

“Antiquities dealers,” Cassandra cut in. “We were in town for business and ran into Dr. Stone last night.”

“What a coincidence! Well ya’ll missed the good stuff, but I just put up some nice bowls and a little ceramic figurine,” Sydney said, turning behind her to a partially open crate. She pulled out some fragments, a cracked whole bowl, and the hand-sized figurine, and brought them back to the table. “It’s amazing how many things we found intact like this. Most items this old get crushed or broken.”

The little figurine caught Cassandra’s attention. It was a fairly intricate sculpture; a person held a rectangular tablet in one hand at its side, and its other held a cup. She didn’t know much about Sumerian culture, but the pose had to mean something, and there was an easy way to find out right in front of her. “Does the pose signify anything?”

“Generally a tablet would mean the figure either was a noble or a priest, as they were the only social classes that knew how to read and write,” Dr. Stone answered, gently picking up the figure. “The cup can have a variety of meanings depending on the age of the figure. Problem is, sculptures of this detail don’t show up for another 500 years or more. Yet another reason this settlement is...well...weird.”

Sydney snickered at the last statement before adding her own response. “If a thing is ‘weird’ it’s just not understood fully. Just like magic is science we don’t understand yet.”

“Well, I don’t understand it, so it’s weird,” Ezekiel commented. Cassandra narrowed her eyes at him, but Dr. Stone just chuckled under his breath. 

They got to see a few more artifacts before Dr. Stone got called for by some workers. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I do have work to do,” he said, starting to leave the tent. He turned back before he let the canvas flap close. “If you wanna get a drink sometime, before you leave, you know where to find me,” he practically purred to Ezekiel, suddenly sounding like he did the night before.

Instead of getting flustered, Ezekiel ate it up. “I’ll definitely take you up on that.” Now Dr. Stone got flustered, not quite the jaw drop, but enough he couldn’t respond and instead left the tent with a smirk. “We must be getting back to the city, but it was lovely meeting you,” Ezekiel said to Sydney who had gone back to cleaning.

“Best of luck to your excavations!” Cassandra chimed in as they started backing up towards the entrance.

“Thank you, it was lovely having visitors in my jail,” she chuckled. “I guess I’ve learned my lesson for forgetting to reapply sunscreen.”

“That is a lesson you tend to only learn once,” Cassandra added.

“That it is. Have a lovely day!” Sydney said, waving. The two waved back, then left the tent. 

They didn’t talk until they were back in their hotel. “Ok, did you see anything in those symbols? A code, pattern, anything?” Ezekiel asked, flopping down on the king-sized bed with his phone in hand.

“I need to know what the symbols translate into before I can think of possible patterns. Dr. Stone was right though, it did look kind of like neo-Hebrew,” Cassandra explained, sitting at the desk to start her research. “Did you see anything? Mechanisms you know?”

“Sort of. He did get right the whole ancient keypad. Each of the buttons moves something on the other side, but there’s a good chance it’s a string of those symbols. Without getting through that wall, I can’t do much,” he confessed. “It’s sort of like that box we found in India a couple years ago, except stone and bigger.”

Cassandra was already typing away. “If I can find the translation, or something remotely close, I can limit down the number of tries we’ll have to take. While I work on that, can you look for things the people of Uruk would find important, names of nobles, events, anything they could make into a password.”

“Sure, ‘cos I’m definitely a historian,” Ezekiel scoffed. 

Cassandra turned back to him, intense stare on her face. “We don’t have much time, considering we’re competing against a world-class expert who’s got a few days head start. If you can find me things to start with-”

“I know, I know, brain grape will do the rest,” Ezekiel sighed, already typing away on his phone.

“Hey, this is one of the biggest jobs we’ve had. After this we can go to a beach somewhere for months on that money. If we get to work, we could have whatever’s in that tomb tonight,” she continued.

“Then you better get to work, I can’t do all the research can I,” Ezekiel toyed. Cassandra, used to him doing this, just sighed heavily and turned back to her laptop. 

The pros of having a world-class thief in the 21st century meant that Cassandra had access to ALL academic databases and library catalogs, even the ones not in access to most academia. This made research on all the artifacts much easier; a world-class mega library at her fingertips. In four hours, with a break for food as well, Cassandra had figured out what the Hebrew-ish symbols probably were and Ezekiel had compiled everything he could find about Sumeria around 3,200 B.C.. 

“Ok, time to let the magic happen,” Ezekiel said as he sent her his list.

Cassandra took a deep breath, standing up from her chair. “Alright…” She spread her hands in front of her like she was trying to manipulate a hologram. To Ezekiel, he just saw her moving her hands and eyes, focusing on some spaces before swiping it away or enlarging it, but to Cassandra it was like an interactive whiteboard, letters and numbers and symbols and pictures appearing in her field of vision. “Ok so if there’s 30 letters, and those give an alphabet mostly in Sumerian. It won’t be those long phrases, passcodes are normally 5-15 characters, unless it’s a sentence.” She swiped around and zoomed again. “Hmm, the specific Hebrew line up with holy symbols...Oh! Together they could spell YHWH, but the whole Hebrew faith didn’t exist yet, unless this is something undocumented.” 

At this realization, data poured into her field of view, too much at one time. Cassandra became dizzy, unsteady and wavering on her feet. Ezekiel quickly caught her, setting her down on the foot of the bed. “Hey, you alright? We’ve got time, you can take a break if it’s too much,” he soothed, watching her intently almost like a parent making sure their kid was alright.

“I can, I’m fine, ow, ok I’ll take a break,” she strained, holding the left side of her head for a few moments before swiping a finger under her nose. “Hey, no nosebleed this time.”

“That’s good. You know, we don’t have to go on vacation again, we could get that out-” he started, but she lifted a hand to cut him off.

“If I do that there’s a chance I lose everything. If I lose that, I’m no use to you or anyone.”

“You don’t know that,” he countered, defensive. Knowing she didn’t need more stress, he sat down next to her and grabbed her hand. He didn’t look at her, he never did when he said this (which was more often than either would like to admit), and instead studied their intertwined fingers. “I don’t care if you can’t ever do math in your head again, I don’t want you to leave me. You’re more than just some walking computer.”

“I know. It’s just, well, irrational fear. Doesn’t have a good reason to be there but it is.” She sighed, looking out the window. “I’ll think about it. But for now, I’m stuck with my brain grape.” She turned to him, a sad look in her eyes, something he hated seeing. Not wanting to lose his composure in front of her like last time, he looked at the wall in front of them. She leaned her head on his shoulder; they sat in silence for some time before she spoke again. “I don’t want to leave you either. And if doctors can help, then I should do that.”

“You shouldn’t do it for me,” Ezekiel whispered, strained, definitely close to losing it. 

“I know. It’s my choice,” she answered, just as softly as him. He didn’t respond with words. Instead he turned his head, kissing the top of hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the most part, all the archeology stuff is accurate (thanks to google and my anthropology class last semester). It’s weird to write stuff like that but it wouldn’t be the Librarians to me if someone wasn’t nerding out about something. 
> 
> Also writing Cassekiel was fun, in a heart wrenching kind of way. Definitely fueled from Cassandra processing in ep 3x08 for sure. I don’t really know how involved they are in this universe, but they definitely care for each other immensely.


	3. Time to Steal the Thing, or Try to Anyway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezekiel and Cassandra sneak into Dr. Stone's excavation, and things happen.

After a break (which turned into a mini nap, a common way she recovered), Cassandra went back to work, with Ezekiel’s watchful eye on her every move. With the start she made for herself, she was able to construct a few phrases using the Sumerian letters and the Hebrew YHWH. 

“We have no clue of knowing those people’s attitude to the Hebrew god, and throughout the time later it fluctuated from indifference to hatred. With that in mind I’ve gotten some not so nice phrases, and some better phrases we can try,” Cassandra concluded, zipping up her boots. They decided their darkest outfits would be best for sneaking, which also happened to be their sexy land pirate outfits at the moment as their last job ruined their full on black outfits (they both learned fire is not fun when it is on your body). 

“Great. I don’t know what type of reset the door has, but that won’t be too hard to figure out,” Ezekiel said as he sorted tools into a small bag. Not knowing what they’d encounter tonight, he was bringing everything he had. “When you read the sentences, read it in map grid style ‘cos I don’t know the letters like you do.”

“Can do. You got all you need?” she asked picking up her own bag, with a couple things in it.

“Yeah, I hope.” He put his bag on his back and looked at her, grinning. “Let’s go rob a tomb.”

 

They arrived at the dig an hour after midnight, to ensure everyone was either gone or asleep. It was quiet, only the rustling of some canvas as a light wind blew through, carrying chill night air. There were no lights on in any of the tents, nor anyone about at 1 am. For the most part they skirted the tents to prevent as much chance of being seen as possible. 

Cassandra led them through the dig by memory, trying to avoid any flashlight use until they were well below the surface. Thankfully they hadn’t done any major excavations after the two had left; within a couple minutes they arrived at the bottom of the mansion, squinting through the dark at the door. 

“Hold a light up for me,” Ezekiel whispered, getting a closer look at the door. She did as requested, shining the modified flashlight at him, providing dim but useable light.

“Ok, I’ll give you coordinates, you press. Let me know if anything happens,” Cassandra said, remembering the phrases she had picked. “Ready?”

“Go for it,” he answered, standing beside the door so he didn’t block the light.

“Let’s see how well they stuck to Southern Sumerian syntax,” she breathed. “Ok, B two, B four, A two-”

“Hold it, after A two, something clicked on the other side differently from when I pressed the first two, probably a reset. So the first two symbols must have been right,” Ezekiel hissed, lifting his head from where he was pressed against the wall to listen. 

Cassandra swiped one hand in the air, carefully controlling her movements as if it would keep her from overloading. “Ok, hmm...I can modify the phrase I think...yeah that may work. Ok so B two, B four, D one-” 

Ezekiel cut her off again. “Same thing. Next.”

“Um...ah ok, B two, B four, C one,” she paused, assuming he’d cut her off again.

“Didn’t reset. Keep going,” he whispered.

“D three, D five, E one-”

“That reset,” Ezekiel cut in again.

“That’s ok, The besides the E one symbol, that was a whole word. Now I can get rid of those phrases,” she thought out loud, swiping at the air more. “Ok it has to be one of these three phrases, because the others wouldn’t make sense.”

“Three’s a nice number from four hundred fifty,” he chimed, trying to encourage her. 

“Well I still don’t know how long this code is. I’m hoping they stick to what I’ve compiled,” she responded.

Apparently the third phrase was the key. Something behind the stone ground and shifted, allowing Ezekiel to push the door into the chamber before it slid to the side on a track. They picked an odd phrase, Cassandra thought, even for the weird stuff they had encountered over the years. “Why would they guard a door with the phrase ‘Do not let God enter’?” She asked the musty air that poured out of the chamber. 

“Who knows, maybe it was an inside joke for all we know,” Ezekiel said as he flicked on his own flashlight and looked in the room. It sloped down into the earth, steep enough they would need to watch their steps. It must have went down over twenty feet because the angled ceiling cut off his view from the bottom. “I don’t see anything so far. It’s steep, so hold on to me.”

Giving one last glance up to the lip of the pit, and thankfully seeing no one, Cassandra linked her right arm with his left. “Ok, let’s go. I don’t want to spend too long down here,” she whispered into his ear before looking down the slope.

Ezekiel led them down in a slow shuffle, stopping every few feet to examine the bricked walls and floor for any traps. However, nothing happened as they reached the bottom. The floor leveled out but there was only a few feet until another stone wall and door stopped them. Pulling away from Cassandra, he checked the door, seeing no symbols or anything suggesting it was locked. He pushed the slab to the side, with some strain, until they could both slip through the space.

The air in this narrow room was not pleasant. Something had died in here a long time ago and no air had gotten out. Both put their sleeves over their noses while Ezekiel checked for more traps. This time he found something. The ground had six-inch square tiles two feet from the doorway, different from the slope they had just descended. All of the tiles had things on them, some were symbols like the ones on the entrance, but others were shapes, hieroglyphs. “You see the floor, Cass?” he asked, flicking his flashlight from tile to tile. They didn’t have too many options per row, since there were only three tiles, but there were probably twenty rows that stretched into the room.

“Yeah, that’s a mix of stuff there. I know the symbols that match those above, but the others are images. It could be a long shot, but I think this may be a type of brain teaser. You know those pictures where if you read the drawings and words right, it says a phrase? Like the number 4 in the middle of the word ‘stance’ would be ‘for instance.’ I think it’s one of those,” she suggested, studying the floor intently. “Only problem is I don’t know for sure what those hieroglyphs mean as the people who made this thought of them.”

“There are several ways to work around a floor puzzle,” Ezekiel added. “I can try the first row and see what happens, or better yet, what doesn’t do anything, and you can go from there. It just depends on how sensitive these tiles are.” He always brought a couple heavy stones with him when he knew there was a chance for a possibly trapped tomb raid like this. He took one out of his bag and unwrapped the cloth he had it in to keep it from clanking against other metal things, looking at the tiles to pick one. “Any suggestions for a first try?”

“Um, well there’s one neo-Hebrew symbol in the first row, on the left, maybe try that?” She suggested, backing up against the wall just in case.

“Why not,” he said, gently tossing the stone onto the tile which then indented into the ground. They both froze, holding their breath for any noise, but nothing happened. “Cool, got it first try. Ok so next row,” he said, replacing the stone with his left foot, “is there anything that makes sense?”

“Well, all three could go next, but the row after has a picture which makes things different. Once I know the next, it will limit what sentences or phrases I can make. And it doesn’t help that the same pictograph is five rows ahead too,” she said. 

“Ok, going for the middle then,” he decided, tossing his rock diagonally from his foot. The tile pressed down, but this time there was the sound of shifting stone in the wall on the right. A short spear whizzed in front of Ezekiel at high speed, going into a hole on the other side. Another grinding sound happened, and another spear flew by, this time from the left wall. He crouched and grabbed the rock, halting the spear trap. “Ok, not the middle.”

“Try the left one then, the next Hebrew one,” she suggested, calculating what phrases could come from that path. He complied, dropping the stone in front of him. The tile depressed, triggering nothing. “Ok good. Now there’s two main ways this could go. It could have the hieroglyph up ahead, though I’m not sure if it’s supposed to represent a man running from a snakes or running into water...neither really make sense.”

“I can always work through with the rock method,” he suggested.

“It could be a metaphorical meaning, or partial, like the emphasis of running to something-”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” a voice boomed behind Cassandra. She squeaked and jumped instinctively to her right, away from the voice. Ezekiel aimed his flashlight at the intruder, revealing Dr. Stone. He was furious, face going red. “You sultry land pirates ruined my dig! In the middle of the night no less! Of course you weren’t antiques dealers, not the legit ones anyway.” He mumbled the last part to himself, but not low enough they couldn’t hear it.

“Hey! We happen to be very good at what we do,” Ezekiel retorted, failing to restrain himself.

With the element of surprise, Dr. Stone leaped at Ezekiel, locking an arm around his neck to drag him off the tiles. He quickly put Ezekiel in between himself and Cassandra, preventing her from firing the taser she was about to use. “Now, before you try anything, I can and will knock your buddy out,” he growled. Ezekiel sputtered and squirmed as Dr. Stone’s grip was none too delicate, which apparently amused the archaeologist. “I’ve been in too many bar fights to let your little scrawny ass get away, son.”

“Let him go, or I’ll-” Cassandra started, but Dr. Stone wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

“Or you’ll what? Hmm?” he pressed, trying to overpower her. When she didn’t respond, he chuckled bitterly. “That’s what I thought. You know, I’ve got no reason to keep your friend awake,” he decided, tightening his headlock. Ezekiel coughed, trying to kick out against the wall to unbalance Dr. Stone, but he was planted. 

“No! Don’t-” Cassandra reached towards them, but somehow Dr. Stone managed to knock out Ezekiel in seconds before she could do anything. She tried to math her way out, try to see if she could get both herself and Ezekiel out of this, but her brain grape decided it had enough use for one day, making her head hurt and the ground suddenly wobble. 

Instinctively, Dr. Stone dropped Ezekiel to the side and caught her before she tumbled onto the tiles. “You could’ve made a mess there,” he said, pulling her arms behind her back to restrain her, but not as rough as he could’ve.

“No...spears, would’ve missed me, ow,” she sucked in a breath in pain, squinting her eyes shut until it passed. 

“Normally I’d not help the folks breaking into my site, but I’m feeling a little generous,” he mumbled, setting her down on the ground. He then went back over to Ezekiel and rummaged through his bag, finding what he wanted: rope. He bound Ezekiel first, then used the rest to tie her arms and legs to restrict most of her movement so she couldn’t run. “I can carry him, but I can’t carry you both, and I’d rather keep him unconscious.” 

Cassandra figured her best bet was to comply until Ezekiel was awake; it’d be hard to somehow drag him out of camp once she managed to untie herself. So she followed behind him, attached to Ezekiel who he was fireman-carrying back to camp. No one else was up in the camp; she thought about making a ruckus but there wouldn’t be any point.

Dr. Stone’s tent was half the size of the artifact tent, enough room for a cot, a chair, a foldable table with papers and books on it, and space to walk between them. For lack of space, he put Ezekiel on the cot, and motioned for Cassandra to sit in the chair, leaving them tethered together. He had turned on a small lamp so they could see. 

“Now, I should be furious with you both, but we’ve been stuck on that door for a week, and you cracked it within a day. How?” He asked, anger still in his voice, but less than it had been before. 

“I’m sure if you had the resources we did, you would have had it open just as quickly,” she responded, not making eye contact with him. Thankfully she could concern herself with watching Ezekiel breathe slowly.

He noticed her concern, it painted her face. “He’ll be fine. Maybe a sour headache in the morning, but he’ll live. Cutting off the artery knocks someone out quicker than the airway,” he explained. She looked at him like she wanted to take his head off, but he kept going. “Why this life? With skills like that you be the top of your specialty in academia.”

“I didn’t get a choice. And he’s not cut out for the academic life, too stationary for him,” she responded, glancing at Ezekiel again before looking back to Dr. Stone. He stared at her for a few moments, thinking about something.

“What if I don’t turn you two in, if you help me get to the end of that tomb?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. “And you can’t take whatever ends up being in there either, obviously it’s going to a museum for further study.” 

At the mention of museum, Ezekiel moaned, mumbling incoherently, before going quiet again. Dr. Stone looked over at the still-unconscious thief on his bed, confused, before looking back to her. She shrugged, as if it was something he did often. 

“How do I know you won’t turn us in?” Cassandra asked, already planning away in her head.

“Once I get to whatever’s at the end of all that, I could care less where you two end up running off to. It could very well be the find of the decade,” he clarified, quite obviously thinking about the fame he was going to get in the archeology world. 

She looked back over to Ezekiel, knowing he’d hate her in the morning, but love her again when they got to the end of this mess. “We’ll do it. And I’ll keep him in line, don’t worry,” she said. He watched her for a few moments, studying her face.

“Much appreciated,” he responded, dripping with sarcasm. 

Though she was tired, she was still curious why Dr. Stone suddenly surprised them. “How did you know we were down there?”

“Actually, I didn’t know until I saw the door was open, and didn’t know it was you two until I found you,” he chuckled at himself before continuing. “I couldn’t sleep, too busy thinking about the door, and then I had an idea so I was going to go try it out. Did the code have to do with Yahweh?”

She looked at him wide-eyed, silently thanking Ezekiel for their ability to research so quickly. “Uh, actually, yes. They guarded the door with ‘Do not let God enter.’’

Dr. Stone looked confused, gears going in his head with that information. He then looked at the watch on his wrist, pushing a button that made the display glow for a few seconds. “Well there’s still four hours till sunrise, and I don’t intend on doing a dungeon crawl on no sleep. I suggest you mimic your friend there and get some rest too. Don’t want you goin’ down on a trap like you about did tonight.” He sat down on the ground at the foot of the cot, leaning against the frame and the blanket that had been bunched up from putting Ezekiel down. The folding chair wasn’t going to be comfortable, but Cassandra had been in worse situations than this. A poor night’s sleep was a worthy sacrifice for whatever was in that tomb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some good old Librarians puzzle action for ya’ll. On the puzzles, I don’t really know what is time-appropriate as I just wrote without consulting google on it, but I think it doesn’t feel too advanced or anything. 
> 
> Writing that last scene was kind of weird because I had to get Stone to not freak out so much that he’d automatically turn them in, but not seem so lax with them like they were the librarians together. Not an easy balance, but I think I managed.
> 
> One more chapter left guys, which I need to finish tonight. Tuesday is my busiest day so I will try to upload it sometime, but it may happen Wednesday.


	4. Actually Stealing the Thing...Almost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Stone, Cassandra, and Ezekiel return to the tomb, and stuff happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason chapter 4 double pasted when I uploaded yesterday, so I've fixed that now. Sorry about that, I blame my ipad.

Eventually Cassandra fell asleep, or dozed, but someone shook her awake. She blinked several times, clearing her vision, revealing Dr. Stone standing above her. He didn’t look all that rested. 

“Get up. You’ve got a job to do,” he growled, angry and menacing again. “Tend to your friend or colleague or whatever he is, tell him what’s goin’ on and all that so we can get to work.”

“Can I have something to eat? Drink?” she asked, testing just how fired up Dr. Stone was. 

He huffed, frustrated, but rummaged around in a duffle bag next to the bed and pulled out protein bars, tossing two on her lap. “Your friend should have one, something in his stomach will keep him clear headed. Water’s in the thermos next to you, don’t drink it all otherwise your friend won’t have any,” he said, pointing to the metal container sitting on the table behind her. She could reach it, though it took effort to get her bound wrists to reach the thermos. Thankfully it was full, so she drank around a third, leaving the rest for Ezekiel.

Dr. Stone shifted on his feet, not sure what he should be doing. “I’ll be outside. No funny business, ‘cuz I’ll know,” he stated, leaving the tent.

With him gone, Cassandra scarfed down one of the protein bars before getting up to wake Ezekiel. Upon standing, she found her legs wanted to protest sleeping in the chair while tied up, but she forced them to move the few feet to the cot. She kneeled down, jostling him softly. “Ezekiel...Ezekiel...wake up,” she whispered, not wanting to startle him awake. He made a noise, a mix between a moan and a whimper, but didn’t open his eyes. “Ezekiel,” she called with more volume this time. “Come on, wake up. Please.” On the “please” his eyes fluttered, unfocused for a few moments before looking at her.

“What’s wrong,” he mumbled, trying to stretch but finding himself bound. “What the-” suddenly more awake, he strained against the rope before his face contorted in pain. “Agh! W...what happened?”

“He knocked you out...and took your rope. Here,” she said, standing up to get the thermos from the makeshift desk, “drink, you need it. And you should eat too, he gave us protein bars.”

“Why did he do that?” Ezekiel asked, voice weaker than it was before. Even in pain, Ezekiel had already halfway worked his way out of his binds.

“Because we’re gonna help him find whatever it is in that thing,” she responded. Before he could react and cause himself more pain, she leaned closed to him to whisper. “Of course we won’t be when it’s all over, I intend to get paid.” He laughed at that. “You even protested unconsciously to letting anything we find go into a museum.”

“And I was right to,” he chuckled, a bit stronger now that he had drank some water. 

Cassandra glanced to the entrance to the tent when she heard voices, not sure who was talking. “Here, eat this,” she said, handing him the protein bar, “he’ll probably be back soon.”

He looked at the label, face scrunching at the flavor. “Just peanut butter? No chocolate chips? How could someone eat that?” he scoffed, opening the package anyway. “You didn’t bring any snacks this time?”

“I didn’t plan on spending the whole night in that tomb, or getting captured,” she retorted. “And it’s been months since I actually needed to bring food with me on jobs.” Thankfully he didn’t respond with a mouth full, just shrugging in agreement. With Ezekiel taken care of, Cassandra set about undoing her binds like he taught her.

The tent flap suddenly opened, letting bright sunlight pour in around the shadow of Dr. Stone. He blinked his eyes several times to adjust to the darker tent. “Alright, I’m gonna untie you so no one gets suspicious-” he noticed Ezekiel was sitting up on the cot, rope in a pile on the ground, and Cassandra mostly out of hers. “Ok, yeah, probably should’ve guessed you could get out of rope. Never mind.”

“Never tie up a thief, it’s useless,” Ezekiel teased. Dr. Stone looked like he was about to strangle him, so Ezekiel looked anywhere but at him and shrunk back a bit, attempting to be passive.

“Ok,” Dr. Stone breathed, trying to calm himself. “Let’s go.”

The site hummed with activity just as it had the day before, the excavation proceeding as planned, like nothing happened six hours ago. No one seemed to pay any mind to the trio as the walked to the still opened door. 

He stayed behind them like a bodyguard, keeping himself between the two and the exit. It was quiet; no one spoke. Only the pats of their boots against the dust and sand echoed down the sloping floor. The gap in the second door was still there too, still the same width he had pushed it open to fit himself and Ezekiel through. 

Barely any light from the surface reached down into the tile room; everyone had their flashlights out, flicking over the sixty or so puzzle pieces on the floor.

“I remember where I got so far, it was left and left,” Ezekiel stated, standing on each tile with a foot, back against the wall. “Where were you thinking next?”

“I wasn't sure, because I was trying to figure out what the hieroglyph meant, then you showed up,” Cassandra started, looking behind her to see what Dr. Stone thought. 

He aimed his flashlight at the tile, studying it. “Hmmm, I’ve seen something similar in Sumerian pictographs. It’s a little different, but the other symbol meant a canal had overflowed. It’d be found with reports of damage or losses.”

“I got it!” Cassandra exclaimed. “Try the right one, and then the middle. It spells out YHWH.”

Ezekiel did as instructed, remaining thankfully not filled with spears.

“It’s something about the Flood, ya know, from the Bible. The symbol isn’t the same as a standard clogged canal, it’s more...urgent,” Stone added, piecing it together. “Do the right one, the one with that pictograph,” he called to Ezekiel. The rock about bounced onto the next tile, but the sinking of the pictograph tile kept it still. “Ok, you know the order, start following him, and I’ll follow you,” he told Cassandra. She nodded, catching up to a tile behind Ezekiel.

“Ok, I think I know the statement. I’m gonna list them off to you Ezekiel,” Cassandra said, swiping at the air again. “Ok, next should be the middle, then the middle again, and then left-”

“One at a time please, I don’t have as photographic a memory as you,” Ezekiel called behind him, tossing the rock into the next middle tile. It sunk, and triggered nothing again.

“Sorry. Ok middle again….now left...then middle…” Cassandra rattled off the directions. 

They were all jumpy on adrenaline by the time they got to the other side. And they also found what smelled so bad. There was a body, well bones and decayed matter anyway. It looked human, with some fractured bones and a spear wedged in between the rib cage and collar bone. “Guess they thought they could outrun it,” Ezekiel commented, kicking at a leg bone with his boot.

“What’s up with this theme? First they don’t want God in here, now they say ‘God causes the flood as requested’?” Stone said, confused. The long dead body on the ground didn’t intrigue him.

“Who knows what these people mean. I’m just concerned with what’s at the end of all of this,” Ezekiel responded, already checking the next door for traps. 

“But what could they be hiding? And why are they obsessed with a god that didn’t exist for several thousand years?” Cassandra asked, sort of aimed at the walking history book behind her.

“There’s always a chance whatever inspired this didn’t make it in the Bible or Torah. Things get lost...or purposely left out,” he answered. “Maybe that’s what they’re hidin’, a controversial manuscript.” By now Ezekiel had shoved the stone slab out of the way enough to let them all slip through, and went in himself. Dr. Stone still made it a point to be the last one into the room, motioning for Cassandra to go next. 

The next room had yet another puzzle, it's solution less obvious. There was a fifteen foot wide pit that stretched from wall to wall. At the bottom, some fifty feet down, jagged rocks littered the floor. Ezekiel and Cassandra stood at the edge, his arm outstretched to keep her from tumbling down. 

“They're really goin’ for theatrics on this,” Dr. Stone mused when he looked over the edge. “How are we supposed to get across?” He flicked his flashlight over the walls and ceiling. “No ledges, and the ceiling is smooth. Did they expect us to carry a plank down here?”

“No,” Cassandra responded, concentration on her face. “Each of the puzzles so far required knowing the language to beat them. This one must as well.”

“How? It can't be voice-activated, and I don't see any symbols,” Ezekiel said, his flashlight dancing around the room for some clue.

“It has to...look for something on a brick, maybe there's a secret button somewhere,” Cassandra suggested. Dr. Stone looked skeptical, but turned around to scour the walls around the door. Ezekiel searched the left wall, and Cassandra searched the right.

Ten minutes later Ezekiel found something. “Cass, over here! I think I found something,” he called. Both she and Dr. Stone came over to investigate. “I thought it may have just been a nick in the stone, but I didn't see it anywhere else.”

“That's ‘cuz it's the Sumerian pictograph for power...sort of. None of the hieroglyphs actually match, but it probably means somethin’ similar,” Dr. Stone explained. He then looked to Cassandra, confused. “Cass? I thought your name was Amy.”

She looked at him like he was extra slow. “You of all people would understand why we'd use stage names in place of our real ones.”

Dr. Stone opened his mouth, about to say something, then closed it. “Ok, so you're Cass-”

“Cassandra,” she corrected.

“Cassandra, alright, then what's your real name?” he asked Ezekiel.

Ezekiel looked to Cassandra, who shrugged at him. He then looked back to Dr. Stone. “Ezekiel.”

“Look at that, we're actually being truthful for once,” Dr. Stone sneered.

“What's your problem? We're helping you!” Ezekiel exclaimed, lightly shoving him in the chest.

Dr. Stone didn't stagger. “What's my problem? You two! Attempting to steal on my excavation! Why shouldn't I be pissed off?” 

“Um, guys,” Cassandra tried to butt in, but neither one would listen.

“You could've just turned us in if that's how you felt about it!” Ezekiel retorted. Jake grabbed him by the shirt collar and shoved him against the wall.

“Guys!” Cassandra snapped. They both turned to look at her, but Dr. Stone didn't release him. “There's no point in arguing. The quicker we get through this the quicker we can go our separate ways and never see each other again. Just cooperate for now.”

Dr. Stone growled at him, but released his grip. Ezekiel opened his mouth, about to make a quip, but Cassandra death glared.

Focusing back to the task ahead, Ezekiel looked at the brick for a few moments, felt the surface, then pushed it several inches into the wall. Somewhere behind the wall, stone scraped against stone, and a small platform extended from the left wall. It wasn't very wide, not even a foot, but enough they could use it to cross. “Cool,” Ezekiel said, turning towards the platform.

“We should probably go one at a time, just to be safe,” Dr. Stone cautioned, looking at the slab warily. They both nodded in agreement. He let them go first, pulling up the rear again. “I hope there's no more traps after this,” he huffed as soon as he made it to the other side. 

“Why, aren't you having fun?” Ezekiel mocked, going back to door-checking duty.

“Unlike you two crazy people, I don't want to spend all day doing 5,000 year old traps under the ruins I'm supposed to be topside studying,” Dr. Stone snapped.

“Boys!” Cassandra commanded, getting their attention. She had her flashlight aimed through the gap Ezekiel was in the process of making. “There's not a room there.”

Once he finished pushing the stone slab aside, he stuck his head and flashlight through, looking left then right before leaning back into the pit room. “That's ‘cos it's a hallway. It goes right, to another door,” Ezekiel responded before going through.

“More doors, great,” Dr. Stone sighed, already pushing Cassandra forward by the small of her back. It made her jump rather than slide through the gap. 

The hallway wasn’t very long. It extended about twenty feet from the door they just came through to the next. Ezekiel went first, checking for any trigger mechanisms on all surfaces, but thankfully there weren't any. He did, however, look at the stone slab covering the door with despair. “Can someone else open it this time?”

“Gettin’ tired, Ezekiel?” Dr. Stone toyed. Cassandra sighed extra heavily, letting them know how much their petty arguing was disappointing her. Even with the jab, he still opened the door, with rather less effort than Ezekiel had put into it. 

This room had only three large levers mounted in the sandstone brick floor. The yard long rods of the levers were made of wood but looked like it had been dipped in a resin, creating a dust-covered sheen. Yet another door was on the far wall, but unlike the others which sat on tracks against the wall, this door was set into the stone; there was no way to push this door to the side.

“Ominous,” Ezekiel commented as he surveyed the room. There wasn’t much to see, besides the three levers. “No traps, no secrets, just the levers, that I can tell.” He walked up to the levers, looking over each one for anything he could find. “The levers have symbols on them, not like any of the ones we’ve seen so far.”

“Three levers...it couldn’t be a reference to the holy trinity since this is waaay before that. Are there any other significant things about three?” she asked Dr. Stone. 

“Three in biblical literature could mean anything, even from the old testament. There’s Noah’s sons, contents of the Ark of the Covenant, the three main feasts, and there’s loads of time segments and measurements too,” Dr. Stone said, frustrated. “If it wasn’t seven somethin’ in the Bible, then it was three.”

“Ok but what about other things? This whole tomb thing has been a mix of Hebrew and Sumerian,” Ezekiel asked.

“Um, well there were three underworld deities, but Sumerian religion didn’t really come about until 2500 B.C. which is 700 years ahead of this,” Stone replied. “I think we can reach forward in time for possible solutions based on the phrases we already had.”

Cassandra ran all Dr. Stone had said through her head, catching him saying something about Noah’s three sons. “Wait, what do you know about Noah? The last room talked about the flood, it’s gotta be related.”

“Hold on,” Stone started, something else clicking for him. “The code on the door, it said “do not let God enter?” right? Well these symbols don’t quite match up to ancient Sumerian, little discrepancies. But this whole thing could be a narrative.” He looked to both of the land pirates, neither of whom got where he was going with this. “What if the phrases were past tense? And the first one, not a command, but a statement.”

Cassandra got where he was going now. “You didn’t let God enter, and God caused the flood as requested...ok, makes sense, but what does it mean?”

“Do the levers represent the sons?” Ezekiel offered, not really sure where this train of thought was going that would make the levers make sense. “There are symbols on them, do you recognize them?”

Remembering the symbols on the levers, Stone strode over to them, staring intently. “Yeah, these are ancient Hebrew, a little newer than the symbols before....and unless I’ve gotten rusty on my Hebrew, they correspond to the first letters of the names of Noah’s three sons.” He pointed to each lever as he said the names. “Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”

“That’s something. So we know they’re names, but what about his sons would make sense for a choice?” Cassandra thought out loud. 

“The only thing I can think of is Ham’s sin against Noah. Basically, he caught his father passed out drunk off wine and joked about it. Back then that was some serious insulting, and Noah said that Ham’s descendents would be slave to his older brother’s, Shem.” Dr. Stone looked to the levers again before shaking his head. “That still doesn’t give us anythin’ to make a choice off of.”

“Ok, to me the phrases sound almost self-righteous, like they knew what was coming. Who of the sons was the favorite?” Ezekiel said. He was pacing a bit in front of the levers.

“That would’ve been Shem, the one the whole Hebrew lineage, including Jesus, came from,” Dr. Stone said. “Part of his descendants also settled here too,” he added as an afterthought.

“Well I don’t know about you two, but I think this Shem bloke is our answer,” Ezekiel decided, walking over to the left lever. Dr. Stone looked to Cassandra in mild panic.

“Ezekiel, maybe we should keep thinking,” Cassandra suggested.

“If we keep thinking, we’ll be here all day. I think it’s worth a shot. Plus, it’s a thirty percent chance,” Ezekiel countered. 

Dr. Stone still wanted to reason out a good choice. “It’s possible some followers of Shem could’ve made this, in some weird obsession. Then the weird mix of letters and pictographs would make sense, and the timeline,” he concluded. “Ya know what, why not. I don’t really know what else would help make a case for the other two sons anyway.”

At Dr. Stone’s approval, Ezekiel pulled the lever. It didn’t budge at first, but once Ezekiel threw his weight into it, the lever slipped back towards him, making him stumble back. Rock rumbled ominously, vibrating the ground. For a moment it seemed like they pulled the wrong one, but the rumbling shifted from under the floor to the far wall. The door slowly sunk into the floor.

Something in the dark room beyond shimmered. The trio entered, finding a circular room with a sole pedestal in the center. A large leather bound book lay on top of the pedestal; it was the source of the shimmering. 

“Shiny book, that’s a new one,” Cassandra said as she stepped closer to the book. 

“No wonder they offered so much for it,” Ezekiel added, in awe of the artifact in front of him.

Dr. Stone roughly pushed through the two land pirates to get his own glimpse, and keep them from the book. “I’m not sure what language this book is in, I’ve never seen anythin’ like it.” He reached forward, gingerly touching the cover before opening it. The same script on the cover filled the pages, along with some drawings every so often as he turned the pages cautiously. Some words shimmered like the outside did, like they had glitter infused into the ink except it emitted light, not reflected it. 

While the archaeologist poured over the foreign script, Cassandra and Ezekiel had an eye conversation behind him. Cassandra looked pointedly at Dr. Stone, before winking extra obviously. Then she glanced at the book, mouthed “me,” and then nodded back to the door. He nodded to her, indicating he understood. It was a crude plan, but it could work if Cassandra could get out quick enough. Ezekiel waited until Dr. Stone closed the book before he attacked.

“This needs to be analyzed in a museu-” Dr. Stone started.

Ezekiel cut him off. “We did it! We found it!” He exclaimed, a little overacting, then gave Dr. Stone a thorough kiss. The suddenness of it all was enough to stun him for a few seconds, giving Cassandra enough time to slip past them, grab the book, and make a break for the entrance.

And it would’ve worked, if there wasn’t someone standing in the doorway.

“I don’t think you wanna run off with that,” the mystery man said. His voice startled the boys out of their fun, and Dr. Stone realized what just about happened.

“You TRAITOR!” he bellowed at her, and shoved Ezekiel away with enough force to send him down to the floor. “Who are you?!” he demanded to the stranger.

The man, who had been standing in the shadows, stepped into the room. Cassandra thought he looked like someone who belonged at Dr. Stone’s dig; an academic with an interesting sense of dress. “Me? Oh, I’m the Librarian, and well, I’m here for the book,” he said, cool as a cucumber. “The question is, what are you all doing here?”

“It’s my dig!” Dr. Stone exclaimed, getting really worked up.

“Oh, you’re Dr. Jacob Stone. Love your work, I’ve read it all,” the Librarian responded, not at all phased by his anger. “And I think you of all people would want that book in a museum...or a library.” The Librarian made a step towards Cassandra, who backed up into Dr. Stone. He grabbed her by the arms, restraining her. “Strong words and arms, nice,” the Librarian commented, taking the book from Cassandra. She would’ve held onto it harder, but the age of the book made her let it go, as she’d rather not be the one to rip it.

“No! That’s ours, we need it!” Ezekiel suddenly shouted, running towards the Librarian. 

“Oh, _you don’t want to do that now_ ,” the Librarian said. Something about his voice sounded different, Cassandra couldn’t put her finger on it, but Ezekiel stopped in his tracks. “I have to applaud your skills,” he addressed the three staring at him, “this safe wasn’t easily cracked, and for good reason. Now, if you don’t mind, I should be on my way. Don’t want the lost book of Serhem in the wrong hands.”

“What library are you with? I definitely wanna follow up on this book,” Dr. Stone asked. 

“I’m, uh, with the Metropolitan Public Library,” the Librarian answered, backing up towards the door. “Great place, you should visit some time. Loads of books and things.” When he got to the door, he turned slightly, addressing the group again. “Seeing as you were in the middle of something when I arrived, I should get going, back to the library.” With that, the Librarian sprinted into the shadows. 

Ezekiel tumbled forward a moment later, like the halted momentum got released. “How did he do that? He stopped me in my tracks, I couldn't move!” 

“I don't know, but I think we shouldn't let him get away,” she responded, looking from Ezekiel to Dr. Stone. The archaeologist had moved to the door, but turned around to them.

“Come on! He can't be too far,” Dr. Stone said, beckoning them to follow as he leaped into the darkness. That was all the duo needed to run after him. 

However, the mysterious man was not in the pit room, nor in the tile puzzle room. “There's no way he could've done this faster than us,” Ezekiel huffed, following Cassandra's footsteps as she led them backwards through the phrase.

The trio burst through the door into the excavation, squinting at the drastic increase in light. “There's too many footprints here,” Dr. Stone said, taking advantage of looking away from the sun. “He's gone up the ramp!” He sprinted up to the main level, but the fresh footsteps ended at a smear. Looking to his right, Dr. Stone saw the source of the smear; some workers were dragging their shovels through the loose sand.

Ezekiel and Cassandra caught up to Dr. Stone as he stomped his foot in the dirt in frustration. “Where'd he go?” Ezekiel asked, looking around the ruins.

“He's gone,” Dr. Stone huffed. “All thanks to you two.”

“Us? Mate, he was gonna come today anyway whether we were here or not,” Ezekiel snapped. 

“I...ugh, just go. Get out, and don't come back,” Dr. Stone rumbled. 

When Ezekiel didn't move, Cassandra grabbed him by the arm and tugged him away. “Let's go, before we make any other mess,” she said under her breath to him. A part of her felt sad for Dr. Stone, the small part that sympathized with those they used to get what they needed. There wasn't anything she could do, so it was best to leave.

 

And they did, all the way back to their apartment in Paris. The buyer was none too happy with their report of what happened, but he knew of this Librarian. Cassandra and Ezekiel didn't want to disappoint this buyer; he had offered them more than their last three jobs combined. 

“Yes, I know of this Flynn Carsen. He's a menace I've had problems with before,” the older gentleman sighed, taking a sip of his coffee. He wore a well-fitted suit, making him look made of money. His white hair had mostly faded, leaving the top of his head somewhat bald, but his sharp eyebrow ridges and nose, and the fire in his eyes made him an intimidating man. “I would be wary of him in the future. There's a good chance you may cross paths again.”

“Again?” Ezekiel asked.

“Well there's plenty more I'm looking for, and despite losing this, I think you have a good chance of acquiring some other items for me. Mr. Carsen can't be two places at once,” the man replied coolly. “If I am satisfied with your performance, there may be some extra...reward, you could say.”

“Uh, yeah, we'll try some more!” Ezekiel said, grin on his face.

Cassandra didn't normally describe people's smiles as “evil,” but this man definitely had one at Ezekiel’s response. “Good,” the man responded, before giving them their next objective.

 

“Do you think it's a good idea to keep working for him?” Cassandra asked as they walked back to their apartment that evening. “That guy gives me the creeps.”

“You've said that about half the people we've dealt with,” Ezekiel said.

“I know...it's just that he felt extra creepy,” she added. “I'm probably just tired.”

“Probably,” Ezekiel replied, opening the door. “Hey,” he started, bending down to get two envelopes that laid on the floor just inside the door, “we don't get mail, what's this?”

“What does it say on it?” Cassandra asked, looking over his shoulder.

“They're addressed to us...from the Metropolitan Public Library. Hey, that's where that Librarian bloke said he was from,” Ezekiel said, giving Cassandra the letter with her name on it. He opened his, pulling out a high quality, but blank, invitation with red looping borders. One he fully freed it from the envelope, calligraphy-style writing appeared like it was being burned onto the paper. “Woah, ‘you have been selected to interview for a prestigious position with the Metropolitan Public Library.’ What a flashy way of saying it.”

“Did your letter, um, appear on your paper?” Cassandra asked, stunned by the magical lettering. 

“What would a library want with us? I don't wanna be stuck inside shelving books all day,” Ezekiel said. Realizing they were both still standing in the doorway, he pulled her gently by the arm and shut their door.

“I don't know, but that librarian we met certainly wasn't a normal librarian,” Cassandra added, walking further into the apartment. They didn't have a whole lot, as they weren't home much, but Cassandra made sure to make it feel homey and comfortable when they were here. As such, she sat down on their super fluffy couch, studying her letter. 

“Do you really wanna tie yourself down with a job?” he asked from the kitchen where he was currently rifling through the fridge for who knows what.

“If we're doing what the Librarian was doing, it wouldn't be much different than our current...occupation,” Cassandra answered. 

Ezekiel peaked around the refrigerator door, in the process of pulling something out. “I guess, but I still don't know if we should trust that guy, I mean he literally stopped me, with words. That's not normal.” 

“But we've already seen ‘not normal’ things before this,” Cassandra countered.

“And Dulaque doesn't like him either,” Ezekiel continued, freeing the leftover pizza he wanted.

“You really trust Dulaque’s opinion on this? He literally just sent us to get a magical missing book of the Bible, and he wants us to get more things like this. He's not normal,” Cassandra said, looking at Ezekiel with a mixture of concern and confusion.

“I don't know. I don't really trust him, but I'm not all buddy buddy with this idea of dropping everything and going to New York for some mystery job either,” he relented, sticking some pizza in the little red toaster oven on the counter. 

“I don't see what we have to lose taking this. Worst case, we come back here and keep doing our thing. Best case, we end up, oh, I don't know, saving the world or something,” Cassandra stated.

“You're always wanting to do good, even in a career where stealing is the main job. Sometimes I don't get you, Cass,” he admitted, intently watching his warming pizza.

“Because this job was all I had,” Cassandra quipped, “and I didn't let it change me.”

“So are you saying I'm bad?” He looked at her not with anger but with curiosity. It wasn't the first time they talked about this, but it had been years since she had brought up this moral dilemma.

“No...well...sort of. I mean you just think about yourself,” she saw him about to say something, so she corrected herself, “about us, I know. But that's it. You just stop there. I don't want to stop here.”

The toaster oven dinged, but he didn't immediately pull out his food. Instead he looked at her with endearment and affection. “You're right. I do just think about us. But if this would make you happy, then I think I can survive.” He then took his food out and sat it on a plate; Cassandra saw him try to sneakily hide the piece he had reheated for her. He liked to do that, do extra for her, sometimes without wanting her to see, but she appreciated it nonetheless. 

“I don't want you to feel dragged along, or confined, just for me,” she said, smiling at him when he handed her the second plate. He then plopped down on the couch next to her, sitting his food on the coffee table in front of them. 

His expression had shifted to amusement now, with a hint of something else; not sadness per se, but something along those lines. “You know that's how love works, right? It doesn't mean you're 100% happy and comfortable. No one has that. And you've braved years of me and my world, so why couldn't I do something you want?”

It wasn't often Cassandra got him confessing his feelings, talking about love and care, and she'd just done it within a few days of each other. As such, she felt the appropriate response to Ezekiel was to kiss him. That also didn't happen often, which let Ezekiel know she really meant it. 

 

Ezekiel kept his word, and two days later they found themselves standing in front of the Metropolitan Public Library. It was busy, even at four in the afternoon, people bustling bustling in and out. The lady at the front desk directed them to a specific room where they should ask for a “Charlene” when she saw their letters. 

They found the lady fussing over some papers and receipts. “Hello, we're looking for Charlene,” Cassandra said to the older (but still strong looking) woman. 

“Yes?” the lady asked somewhat impatiently, like they just interrupted a very important task.

“We got these a couple days ago,” Ezekiel said, showing his letter. Cassandra held hers out as well. 

At the sight of the letters, Charlene’s eyes went wide. “Oh, that's not normal,” she said, standing up from her desk and motioning for them to follow her. “Something must be going on for the Library to send these. Four in one day, and one to a Guardian, the world may be ending at this rate.” Cassandra and Ezekiel looked at each other with concern at that last part. She walked up to a wall of bookcases, with two what looked like security guards standing in front of them. They didn't even acknowledge her presence as she reached for a specific book, pulling it towards her till it clicked. The wall popped forward an inch, which the security guard on the left the left pulled open for them.

Behind the secret bookcase was an elevator. It seemed normal at first, but the buttons had no labels. It started descending, lights in the side panels going up as the passed each floor, picking up speed after the fourth floor, a lot of speed. “Um how far down are we going?” Cassandra asked, not even keeping up with the speed at which they descended based on the lights.

“To the basement,” Charlene simply said, like it was a normal thing. 

“But we already passed the-” Cassandra started, but Charlene cut her off.

“To the real basement,” she clarified. As soon as she said that, the elevator stopped. 

At the speed they were going, Cassandra figured they should’ve been goop smushed against the ceiling, but she didn’t even feel so much as a little bump when the lights stopped moving and the doors opened. What they saw shouldn’t be possible, couldn’t be. A huge archive, wide as a commercial jet hanger and as deep as, well, Cassandra couldn’t see the back wall. There had to be thousands of bookshelves, and each one looked full too, along with numerous display cases with things she didn’t think existed until now. “Is that the Ark of the Covenant?”

“Welcome to the Library,” Charlene said, stepping out and starting down the marble steps. “And Yes, it is, so don’t open it. The Library keeps and protects items of magical interest from getting into the wrong hands, and has been for over a millennium.” She led them through a maze-like path around bookcases and displays, eventually down a grey stone corridor for a few moments to a set of windowed double doors. 

This room looked much smaller than the part they had just been in; a stair case went up the back of the room with loads of drawers lining the back wall that looked like an old card catalog system. There was a large table with various maps and books and a couple lamps on it as well. Cassandra saw people inside, one of which she recognized because he was facing them. It was the Librarian. Charlene opened the doors, making their entrance seem grander than it should’ve been. A man turned around at the sound, and both Cassandra and Ezekiel froze.

“I should’ve known it’d ask you two,” Dr. Stone mumbled, eyes narrowed at both of them. The Librarian didn’t seem to notice their tension, immediately talking to Charlene.

“More Librarians? What’s going on, Charlene?” he asked, clearly confused as much as all the others were. 

“Do I look like I know, Flynn? The Library doesn’t send these out willy nilly, and since you’re still alive it must want to have more than one Librarian,” she responded.

The lady that Flynn had been talking to before they entered spoke. “If they’re anything like you two,” she pointed to Flynn and Dr. Stone, “then I don’t see why more brain power is a bad thing. Makes asset management a bit more complicated, though.” Cassandra didn’t recognize the lady; she looked military, or at least carried herself that way.

“Well he’s not like me,” Dr. Stone sneered at Ezekiel, clearly still pissed at the two. 

“Hey, I may not care about your ruins but I know how to crack any security system in the world. I’d like to see you try that one, mate,” Ezekiel quipped.

“A soldier, a historian, a thief...what can you do?” Flynn asked Cassandra.

“I...well, I can do physics in my head, complicated patterns, math, stuff like that,” she answered. 

“And a genius,” Flynn added to his list. “Something’s up for the Library to pool these resources together.” Then Flynn looked confused at Cassandra. “Wait, if you can do all of that, why were you going to steal that artifact back in Iraq?”

“Ezekiel and I work together…” she started, not really wanting to admit to their thievery. He processed for a moment, before realizing the duo’s skills did compliment each other, and apparently worked for artifact hunting as he had seen. 

“I can’t work with them,” Dr. Stone blurted out, still seething at their arrival.

The military lady, sensing his anger, clapped him on the shoulder, making him jump. “No one’s making you stay, you can walk right out those doors and never come back.”

“Colonel Baird is right, just because you were chosen doesn’t mean you have to accept the job,” Charlene added. “However, the Library must think you three are going to be very important for something soon, regardless your differences.” Dr. Stone pondered her statement, regulating his breathing as he did so.

“It’s not like we didn’t work well together, before we, well, tried to nick the book,” Ezekiel said, trying to be nice to Dr. Stone. 

It took a few moments for Dr. Stone to respond. “Just ‘cuz I’m working with you, doesn’t mean I trust either of you,” he said at last.

“Great! Alright team, I think it’s time to assess what the Library wants all of you to do,” Colonel Baird said, getting all their attention. Flynn moved to the cluttered table behind him to start sifting materials. Dr. Stone narrowed his eyes at them for a moment, before turning to Flynn.

“Before I leave, I want you all to know that you need to keep your receipts if you want to be reimbursed, and no extraneous spending,” Charlene said to the group. “Good luck with whatever's coming.” With that, she faced the double doors and left.

After giving the two newcomers a brief rundown on the history of magic and things they needed to know, a book on a stand at the end of the table literally fluttered to life. 

“Speaking of magic, the clippings book has got something for us,” Flynn said, walking towards it. They all followed him out of curiosity. “Seven people have gone missing within two months, and freak thunderstorms keep hitting just this town. Sounds like magic to me.” He looked up at everyone, watching their expressions. Colonel Baird looked like she was already planning, Cassandra looked excited, Ezekiel looked curious, and Dr. Stone looked confused. “Who's ready to go to Nebraska?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a wild end, eh? I had to throw Flynn in as I wanted to do something that would make them all be like “you know what, magic is real, so why not” and them join up as Librarians. Plus if there was something like that, the Library would for sure send Flynn to go get that. I feel like this universe Flynn would use the whole “say the words with magic and it does things” like he revealed in “and the Curse of Cindy” a lot more, idk why though.
> 
> I'm not sure why I decided Cassandra and Ezekiel were working for Dulaque, but my brain set this kind of pre-season one so it works.
> 
> I know I said earlier I wouldn't have anymore Cassekiel in this, but guess what my brain decided to do at 11:30 at night? That being said, I honestly love writing it. I love their dynamic, or at least the one I've written them in (I'd like to hope I did the characters justice). I decided that I wanted them to be romantically involved, or as much as Cassandra allows as her tumor would probably keep her from investing in long term things like relationships. 
> 
> So, this story is complete, however I definitely wanna explore both pre-Librarian and post-Librarian dynamics. Most likely that means some Cassandra and Ezekiel adventures, cuz I wanna explore more of their relationship off of what I showed in chapter 2. And when I feel confident enough to write post-op Cassandra, I’d like to explore it in this universe too.
> 
> Now for some shameless blog plugging. I’ve got a [ Tumblr (adapted-batteries) ](adapted-batteries.tumblr.com) where I reblog all sorts of stuff, including the Librarians. Feel free to follow me on there.


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